Flu vaccine selections may be an ominous sign for this winter

As medical and public health officials start to urge people to get vaccinated in anticipation of the coming flu season, there’s evidence a couple of components in this year’s flu shot may be off the mark. Last week, experts met at the WHO to select the strains for the vaccine that countries in the Southern Hemisphere will use in the winter of 2020. Their choices are based on the versions of the various viruses being seen most commonly now. The experts decided that next year’s vaccine ought to include some strains that are different than what’s in this year’s flu vaccine for the Northern Hemisphere. This shift away from the Northern Hemisphere vaccine means that what’s in that vaccine right now is perhaps not the best match for what’s currently circulating.